Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Review by Honey B

Director: Zack SynderCast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jeremy Irons, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Robin Atkin Downes, Diane LanePlot: Fearing the actions of Superman (Henry Cavill) are left unchecked, Batman (Ben Affleck) takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of hero it really needs. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat Doomsday (Robin Atkin Downes), is created by Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). It’s up to Superman and Batman to set aside their differences along with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to stop Lex Luthor and Doomsday from destroying Metropolis.Verdict: Superman v Batman has swooped into the cinemas in a flurry of dark themes and over-the-top action.You could not get two more polar opposite superheroes than Ben Affleck’s brooding, vigilante Batman and Henry Cavill’s boyishly charming, do-gooder Superman.Screenwriters Chris Terrio and David Goyer play nicely off of the heroes obvious differences as the tormented Batman questions when the much-loved Superman will turn bad. While Superman struggles with his inner-demons and the choices he has made in protecting the world.Cavill portrays a conflicted hero as this film picks up where Man Of Steel left off – after the grand fight Superman had with Zod (Michael Shannon). Many in the community are left wondering if the body count was too high and what laws should Superman be held accountable to?In this respect, Holly Hunter plays a feisty and smart senator who puts Superman on notice and she is a true asset of this film.That said, there isn’t too much that is well thought-out about this film – except for maybe the next Justice League movie.While there is plenty going for this movie from the beautifully set-up scenes relating to Batman’s parents to Amy Adams’ portrayal as the dogged journalist Lois Lane in Nairobi interviewing a terrorist are chilling, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman is mysterious and mesmerising tand Affleck as a hulking salt and pepper, gravel-voiced Caped Crusader – there is plenty to like.But on the flipside there is also plenty to dislike as this film runs way too long at over two and thirty minutes, the story is incoherent with too many sub-plots and Jesse Eisenberg is sadly miscast as Lex Luthor.Eisenberg is certainly an off-kilter villain, but it’s hard to shake the notion that instead of a smart, mega-rich technological genius, business magnate and philanthropist Eisenberg is channelling a more twisted Joker-like character. It’s a clear miss.Luthor’s motivations are never clear and his character is actually quite grating and annoying.The same can be said for the mess that is Luthor’s created monster – Doomsday who is weird computer-generated hulking character. The whole fight sequence is quite grainy, dark and long.Gadot as Wonder Woman is always a welcome relief in this film and at times you want her to knock the two superheroes heads together to whack some sense into both of them.There’s no denying that Batman wants to be the biggest, meanest hero on the block.This film could have done with a few more lighter moments, Jeremy Irons as Alfred gets some good one-liners and Affleck’s Batman actually cracks one joke near the end of the movie.This is a superhero movie that is seriously in need of some zing because Batman sure knows how to bring a party down.